So long 2015!

Airlilft Northwest display at the Children's Museum!

New Year's Eve...a time to reflect back, a time to look ahead and a time to celebrate. We are truly, truly blessed. We have a HUGE village around us who have demonstrated their love and support for us, we have 2 fantastic kids who fill us with pride and happiness on a daily basis and we have a truly wonderful life together.

But 2015 can go away now...we are done with it!

Kids taking it easy in the sun while we packed up camp!

Doing a little scootering before dinner

Alistair is doing great. He continues to improve, though more slowly. His speech is getting more clear and he is easier to understand. His hands continue to see tiny progress. He is still not able to write or draw. He has done some coloring and attempts to write, but it is not there yet. He can do Legos like a champ and spent the past few days putting together a set with 884 pieces mostly by himself!! He still needs some help in the bathroom and with showering. Depending on the pair of socks he chooses, he can get his socks and velcro shoes on by himself, which is awesome!! He gets on and off the school bus all by himself now, no need for a boost up or hand down. He has pretty much mastered buckling himself in all of our cars now, although he still needs some help from time to time. He has another check-up with his rehab doctors soon and with his cardiologist in February. 

Alistair and his newest Lego set - DONE!

School is going well. He continues to do great with math and on his tests. His is still an avid reader and through Dora, his para, has written some very Alistair-esque stories for class assignments. I am glad, despite his additional needs in class, he still enjoys school and being there. He has been very active at recess, most recently playing football. He came home one day on the bus and as he got off ran over to me yelling, "Mommy, Mommy, I scored a touchdown at recess today!!" He was so excited! I even heard about it from another parent whose son was so excited for Alistair! Over winter break, he had some therapies before Christmas, but I also made time for him to have some play dates with friends. With all his therapies everyday after school, it doesn't afford him the time to go over to a friend's house or go play at the park! He really enjoyed getting to spend time with friends and go to their house to play! 

Heather Lake up by Granite Falls

Seth and I are doing well. The kids have been with Grandma and Grandpa this week while we took some much needed and deserved time off. We have seen some movies, went on a hike with some friends, had dinner and drinks with friends, did some homeowner responsibility stuff and just generally relaxed. I feel guilty that we didn't use the time to go somewhere, but then I think about how relaxed I am since I have nobody to be responsible for but myself. Poolside in Arizona or hanging in my PJ's in my house...either way I feel fine (truth be told, I would LOVE to be poolside in AZ)! We have talked to the kids just about everyday and I do miss them. But I am also enjoying not having them here for a few days!

Trip to Northwest Trek for his buddy Ethan's birthday!

Trip to the aquarium in November - their favorite!

That being said, we do still find ourselves feeling sad and discouraged from time to time. I sat and watched Alistair flip the school lunch calendar over on the fridge after he realized it was on the wrong month. It took him about 5 minutes to grab the magnet, the calendar, get it all turned the right way and put it back on the fridge. He did it and that's great, but it pissed me off to see him struggle with something so simple. He struggles with lots of stuff like that but eventually gets it. He is determined; I don't think he thinks about stuff being easy for him before, so he doesn't get discouraged. I think we do a good job of hiding our emotions and just cheering him on. 

Getting ready for Christmas and cleaning up to decorate, I have come across lots of his drawings and things he made that he wouldn't be able to do right now: sketches of planes, of Disneyland from last January, of our new trailer. They made us Christmas gifts in both of their classes. Alistair's is a really cool picture of trees in snow. The trees are made of various colors of tissue and there are hole punches for snow falling. It is very pretty and wintry, but I know it was mostly done by his Para. I am sure he was involved in the design and maybe some of the process. It doesn't mean we can't enjoy it all the same, but it just doesn't have that "made by a kid" look to it.

I also still struggle with my misguided guilt over the whole surgery and subsequent events. I say misguided because I know I shouldn't feel guilty. But every morning I see that huge scar on his chest and it reminds me of everything. I feel bad, even though he seems to be trucking along just fine, that he has these set-backs and hurdles to get over. He doesn't complain, and I wouldn't blame him if he did. I am sure over time I will be able to resolve these feelings. If he can regain full use of everything and be able to enjoy everything he did, that would certainly help! 

Gillian is doing great. She is a very good student, loves Math, Art and Reading/Writing. She is really working hard at reading and loves writing. Some of the ways she finds to spell words is very creative and interesting...makes it fun to figure out what she wrote. But even that is beginning to rapidly improve. She is doing very well in gymnastics and has moved up in levels. She continues to be a very helpful sister and aids Alistair when he asks. They have so much fun together. She is so silly and creative and gets Alistair involved (which is something he never did at that age) and they laugh and laugh. They also fight and do the typical sibling stuff. On the one hand it is annoying, but it is also normal which is nice! 

Case in point!

We would like to once again thank everyone for your support in every way. The fund that was set-up for us is beginning to help us once again. We used it initially to pay for our flight home and some medical expenses we incurred in bringing Alistair home from the hospital. In November we maxed out our outpatient therapy benefit and have been paying out-of-pocket for all of his visits. Even with a cash payment discount...yikes! Seth is working with the insurance company to see about converting the remaining inpatient therapy visits to cover outpatient. So far no dice, but we also haven't heard "no" yet! Stay tuned! I hope in the new year we might be able to scale back on his therapies a little, maybe not 6 days a week. That would be nice on many different levels!

On our way to see The Nutcracker!

Merry Christmas to those we weren't able to send a card to or didn't see. We had a wonderful holiday celebrating with friends, family and neighbors. Christmas is truly a magical time of the year, no matter your age! Happy New Year and here's to a healthy, happy and exciting 2016!